


When The Rain Falls

by xShadowWolfx



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-27
Updated: 2015-01-27
Packaged: 2018-03-09 04:01:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3235514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xShadowWolfx/pseuds/xShadowWolfx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ray goes through rough times and keeps it a secret from the rest of the Hunters. But when the storm refuses to pass, he finds it difficult to remain silent any longer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When The Rain Falls

Ray had already left his apartment in a bad mood and just hoped that, general chaos of the start of moving offices aside, a few hours of playing games would cheer him up. Life hadn't been too kind to him lately, and sometimes he wished he would wake up and all his troubles would be gone.

_Or that I could crawl in a hole and hide. Man, why hadn't they realized before?! Even with all the campaigning to free Edgar, that cow had the life! At least as much as his pixilated Minecraftian life could be. Still better than what I'm going through right now._

Unfortunately, he immediately walked into the office to find a mess that was a full cup of spilled coffee all over his desk and a very guilty faced Gavin. It took over an hour to get his keyboard dry enough to even remotely use. Then all of his Minecraft footage from that morning's recording which he had won, mysteriously corrupted and was unusable. Ray suspected that some coffee trails had landed on and ran under more equipment than the keyboard which only infuriated him even more.

"Gavin, why the fuck do you always have to fuck everything up?!"

"I said I was sorry."

"Maybe if you didn't act like a fucking little kid all the time, this wouldn't have fucking happened!"

"Ray, knock it off!" Geoff intervened. "Gavin already apologized."

"I'll knock you off," Ray muttered under his breath.

"Care to repeat that, asshole?" Geoff turned around and gave the lad a threatening stare.

Ray just stayed quiet and kept his eyes on the computer screen. He had heard the warning in Geoff's voice and didn't feel like being lectured right now or pushing his boss's patience. Ray could also feel everyone else's confused stares on him but made no move to explain himself. He could try to convince Geoff that he had said something else as a joke, but he wasn't sure if that excuse would work this time. From the sudden tension in the room, _caused by him_ , it seemed like no one was in a laughing mood, _or an understanding one either_. Luckily, Geoff dropped it and decided not to scold the lad further as Ray lifted up items on his desk to clean up the rest of the coffee.

They stopped for lunch a few minutes later and Ray immediately left, both wanting to get away for a few minutes to calm down, and to avoid Geoff who he knew was going to pull him aside to talk about earlier. And he didn't feel like talking about what happened because that would only lead to him being forced to tell what was really going on. That was a subject he didn't feel like discussing right now. Ray finally decided to just go grab something from Taco Bell.

_Nothing could go wrong with that right?_

After realizing he didn't have enough cash and having to put it on the credit card that he wasn't even sure he could pay this month, he slipped going out the door and shattered his phone, leaving it virtually unusable. The food also went careening out of the bag and onto the sidewalk. Ray stayed on the ground for a moment just glaring at the ruined phone and food. He could always raid the snacks at the office, but the phone problem couldn't be fixed that easily. The dark clouds that had appeared in the distance only seemed to mirror his mood.

The lad finally picked himself up, threw away the soiled food, and headed back to the office hungry and fighting back tears. Ray stormed in the front door, not seeing the boxes piled up in the way, and so he fell down and landed hard on his left arm. He held back a cry as pain shot through his wrist. Ray laid on the floor in pain then carefully moved the appendage. The lad was sure it wasn't broken, but it sure did hurt. Ray cradled his wrist with his other hand as he cast the boxes an envious look since they had suffered no damage whatsoever. At least no one was around or hadn't seemed to have heard the embarrassing crash. Ray almost wished someone would have run up and made sure he was ok, but he didn't want to risk being laughed at right now either.

When Ray practically limped back into the Achievement Hunter office, he accidently slammed the door a little harder than he intended. Everyone was already back in and looked at the lad in concern since he normally didn't act this way, Geoff even foregoing his normal comment about only babies slamming doors. Ray didn't give them the chance to ask questions though as he sat down, put his headphones on, and began editing. The gents shared worried looks. Ryan was going to go back to the warehouse but stayed instead to keep an eye on the lad. Maybe it was some fatherly or big brother instinct that told him something was seriously wrong, he wasn't sure. The gent always found himself looking after the well being of the lads, and it was hurting him that something was obviously wrong and Ray wouldn't tell anybody what was going on.

Gavin looked at Michael and whispered, "What the bloody hell is wrong with him?"

The older lad just shrugged his shoulders and mouthed back, "just leave him be." Although he did cast a worried look at his best friend. He knew Ray and Courtney had broken up recently but he seemed to have been taking that just fine. At least Michael thought he was unless there was something else going on.

Not even an hour later when filming AHWU, Team Nice Dynamite found the giant stuffed fish and the throw that was meant to only hit Jack ricocheted into Ray, knocking over his screens, hitting keys on the keyboard, and causing him to lose all of his editing before he could save it. Luckily nothing broke which was probably his first stroke of actual good luck all day, _for the past few weeks for that matter_ , but Ray had finally had it with everyone and everything.

That's when he exploded. That's when he started to yell and curse at not just the other two lads but at the gents as well when they tried to calm him down, even jumping away when Geoff reached for him. That's when those words turned into ones he didn't even mean and regretted as soon as he saw the hurt, confused, and angry expressions on the Hunter's faces. Silence fell as soon as the lad finished his tirade and came down from his rage, breathing heavy. There was a soft rumble of thunder outside. That's when he realized how badly he had just fucked up. He had wrongly taken out all of his anger on the people who cared about him most. And even if he didn't get fired, the lad wasn't sure if anyone would even forgive him. Ray did the only thing he thought was smartest right now; he bolted from the room. Everyone was in too much shock to stop him.

After the door slammed, Geoff sighed and put his head in his hands as he sat back down heavily in his chair.

"What am I going to do with that kid?"

Jack turned to Michael, "Has he ever acted that way before?"

"Not that I know of."

"Let's just give him a few minutes to cool off," Geoff said in a tired voice.

"If he's not back in an hour, I'm going to look for him," Ryan spoke up. Their boss just nodded in agreement. Then he looked at the mess the other two lads had made.

"Clean that up then get back to work." Geoff ordered sternly. He wanted to yell at them but couldn't find the motivation. There had been enough yelling already.

No one commented when Ryan stood up from the couch an hour later. Gavin, Michael, and Jack had attempted to edit but kept zoning out. Geoff had been mindlessly flipping between windows and tabs on his computer, not sure what he was even doing, and constantly checking the door, expecting Ray to just waltz back in as cheerful as he always did. Ryan had been watching the hour pass by tortuously slow. It seemed like he could only kill a few minutes at a time before being stuck sitting and waiting yet again. Jack called out a good luck when Ryan stepped out of the room, but everyone else was too worried to say anything, only sparing a glance and then turning back to their computers. Ray and Ryan always got along well enough so they trusted him to be able to sort out what the problem was.

The gent started by checking all the obvious spots: the break room, the bathroom, the warehouse, closets, even Joel's office, but kept coming up empty. It also seemed that everyone was either away from their desks for long periods or had been too busy to pay attention to anyone's movements. Ryan thought about checking the lad's apartment, but it was pouring down raining outside.

_Surely he wouldn't try to run home through that?!_ Ryan stopped to think. _Where would Ray hide that no one would think to look? Somewhere outside would be the obvious answer. But it's raining, so he couldn't have gone far._

A check around the outside of the building finally yielded the results he was looking for. At an overhang where a bunch of picnic tables were, Ray was sitting on one facing away from the table with his head in his hands. Ryan ran to the overhang. Even though Ray was facing the gent, he didn't notice when Ryan cautiously walked up to him, moved the lad's glasses off the bench to the table, and sat down next to him. He had to fight the immediate instinct to gather the lad in his arms and hold him till whatever was hurting him went away. It wasn't until Ryan gently laid a hand on his shoulder that Ray jumped in surprise. The gent took his hand away so he didn't scare the lad further.

Ray looked up at him and realized it was only Ryan.

"Sorry I startled you," the gent apologized.

Ray put his head back in his hands. "You shouldn't have to be saying sorry."

Ryan frowned at the lad's broken sounding tone and laid his hand back on Ray's shoulder, lightly squeezing.

"If you're just here to yell at me or beat the shit out of me, can you just get it over with?"

"I'm not here to chastise you, Ray. I just wanted to make sure you're ok." When the lad made no answer he continued, "Everyone's more worried than mad at you. Especially when you didn't come back. You've never acted like this before. We, including myself, just want to find out why because there has to be a reason, right?"

Ryan watched Ray for a response. The lad glanced up at him and even without his glasses, he could see the worry and genuine care in Ryan's eyes, instead of the anger he had expected. Ray broke the gaze though as it only made him feel more guilty. Ryan was even more concerned when he had seen the multitude of emotions in Ray's eyes from sadness to guilt to pain, physical or emotional or both he wasn't sure. The lad tensed up, battling in his mind whether to open up to the gent. After spending so much time trying to deal with this shit alone, he wasn't sure who to trust telling it to or even if he wanted to tell. The conflicting feelings were all just so confusing and weighed on him so much.

Thunder rumbled but luckily it wasn't lightning bad.

After some time had passed, Ray let out a soft sob. Feeling his father instincts kick in again, Ryan finally gave in to them. He pulled the lad onto his lap and held him tight to his chest, cradling his head with one hand and rubbing his back in soothing circles with the other. He could still feel Ray seeming like he was trying to not let out his emotions though.

"It's ok," he said gently.

That comforting phrase finally gave Ray the permission to cry into Ryan's chest as all the frustration, fear, anger and depressing emotions were released. The gent rested his cheek against the lad's head and rocked him slightly. He stroked his hair and also began to hum softly. His deep voice vibrating in his chest was actually helping Ray to ground himself a little. This was the problem with not telling anyone for so long. It just got to the point where he could no longer handle it by himself, no matter how much he wanted to be able to. Ray had just kept thinking that these were _his_ problems and _his_ to deal with alone when all he really wanted to do was to allow himself to be vulnerable.

_If only my fucking pride had let me do this sooner._

The gent wasn't sure how long it was until Ray stopped sobbing and just sat there shivering in his arms. Ryan continued to hold him tight and watched as the rain continued to pour down. The wind was cold, so the gent tucked Ray close against him so he would stay warm. He looked back down when he felt the lad finally sigh and stop shaking. As Ray calmed down, he closed his eyes and tried to get his breathing under control. For a moment everything was peaceful, even the sound of the storm just faded away, leaving only the soft rumbles in the gent's chest from his humming and the steady thump of his heartbeat. Finally, in what had been feeling like forever, Ray relaxed and was lulled into a state of tranquility. He felt like a small child again, safe and secure in the strong arms of one of his parents, letting them chase away his troubles. Ryan decided that Ray had settled enough to try talking again.

"Ray, what happened? You know you can tell me anything."

Ray hesitated, still not sure about letting someone else in, even if it was Ryan. He didn't want the gent to just feel sorry for him or think he was being a burden.

_Fuck it._

"A lot happened," the lad finally answered, his face still pressed against the gent's chest. "I don't know where to start."

"Start at the beginning, that's always a good place."

Ray was quiet for a moment as he collected his thoughts.

"A few months back, lightning hit the apartment and all my stuff that was plugged in got fried right after I had spent a lot money on games and a new Xbox. I had to eat out for almost every meal for a little while, and it cost a fuck ton to get everything fixed. Courtney and I broke up. Then I had to fly home for a family crisis, and that was eating up my savings. I started to fall behind on the bills, and forgot to pay rent, and..." he let out a soft sob again but didn't break down. "I'm being evicted. And then today I broke my phone, I hurt my wrist when I tripped over boxes, and got mad at you guys for everything, and I'm just sorry, Ry. I'm so sorry."

Ryan rubbed the lad's back and shushed him as he started to cry again.

"Ray, why didn't you tell someone?" Ryan made sure he didn't sound accusatory or scolding.

"I felt like a failure. I didn't want everyone to be ashamed of me for not being able to take care of myself," was the brokenhearted response.

"Ray, look at me," the gent's tone firm but gentle. He didn't want to further upset the lad but wanted to make sure he absolutely understood what he was about to say. Ray glanced up at him. Ryan's heart broke at the lad's absolutely distraught expression. It seemed like the weight of the world and a metaphorical rain cloud were hanging over him.

"Bad stuff happens to everyone, but that doesn't make them failures. Everyone needs help with something in their lives. We're all your friends here, bud. We care about you and if you think a little outburst is going to change that, well you're wrong. When something bad happens that you can't handle, talk to someone rather than keep us in the dark. Don't push us away and run from us like that. You know we're here for you no matter what."

Ray hid his face as a few guilt filled tears slid down his cheeks. "I'm sorry, Ryan."

The gent rested his cheek against him again and rocked him again.

"I know. I'm just sorry none of us noticed sooner." _How did we allow this to get so out of hand?_ Ryan made a silent promise to keep a closer eye on all of his co-workers in the future.

"How did you even find me?"

"R & R Connection I guess. You know I have a sixth sense when it comes to finding you lads."

"So what now?"

Ryan watched as the rain slowed and an idea occurred to him.

"Ray?"

"Yeah?"

"How much time do you have left in your apartment?"

"3 days." And then his face fell when he once again was reminded of the dilemma he was in. The lad knew he needed to find somewhere else to stay and fast. The only reason he hadn't talked to Michael was that he didn't want to impose, especially since his best friend was married now.

"The house that my family and I just moved into has a basement living space with a bathroom, living room, and a bedroom. The previous owner had it built as a sort of guest room. We're just using it for storage. And since you need a place to stay, at least until you get back on your feet, do you want to live with me and my family temporarily?"

Ray still hadn't gotten past the basement part. Ryan was the Mad King after all.

"So it's not a place where you murder people and then eat them and perform experiments to take over the world?"

The gent quirked an eyebrow at him.

"I'm not really insane you know."

"The last Let's Play begs to differ."

"I like to keep people on their toes."

Ray gave him an incredulous look.

"And as far as taking over the world, there's probably enough junk stored down there right now to take over the world by itself without me even having to lift a finger."

The lad had to laugh softy at that. Ryan's expression changed back to serious when he saw Ray thinking about the offer.

"You promise you're not going to put me in a hole?"

"Well, a basement kind of is a hole-" Ryan stopped at Ray's horrified expression and chuckled. "I'm just messing with you, bud. So yes or no? Or if you want to think about it, you can get back with me later."

Ray had to admit that the offer was one that he really wasn't surprised at. Ryan was always looking after the lads like a big brother, sometimes seeming like he was more on Team Lads than Team Gents, and was there to supervise when Jack and Geoff were otherwise busy. Ray didn't want to seem like a burden, but he also knew that he was trapped in a bad situation that was only going to get worse if he didn't ask for help. For once, he just needed to swallow his pride and not pass up this opportunity.

"YOLO, right?"

Ryan smiled a warm, genuine smile, which Ray returned, and the gent ruffled his hair.

"I'll let the missus know and we'll get you moved over. I guess we finally have an excuse to go through all those boxes now. And you can stay as long as you want. Don't ever think you're not welcome."

Ray then settled back in the gent's arms.

"Thank you," he said for more reasons than one.

Ryan understood and patted his back. "No problem."

The two sat in a comfortable silence as the rain had slowed down to just misting now and the sun was starting to peek through.

"Are you ready to go back inside?"

Ray tensed up against him, remembering the others. Apologizing to Ryan and pouring his heart out to him was one thing, facing the others, especially Geoff, was another matter entirely.

"Ray, you know they'll forgive you. You know they already have."

The lad didn't respond to him.

"Come on," Ryan made the decision for him. He stood up and gently pushed the lad off of his lap then handed Ray his glasses. "We're going to go back in there and you're going to apologize to the others, and then we're going to tell Geoff what's going on, so let's go."

He grabbed Ray's wrist but immediately let go when the lad let out a gasp of pain. Ray held the limb against him protectively.

"I'm sorry, Ray. I forgot you said you hurt your wrist. Here, let me see." Ryan held his hands out and waited for the lad to give him the injured limb. When he did, the gent gently prodded and ran his fingers along the slight swelling, taking note when Ray winced and gasped slightly. "I think you might have just sprained it. Why don't you come home with me tonight so we can discuss everything with my wife over dinner, and we can bandage your wrist properly."

"Ok."

Both then turned to walk back inside. Still sensing his reluctance, Ryan kept a firm hand on the lad's back. They made a quick stop to find a first aid kit and temporarily bandaged the lad's wrist. When they were at the door to the Achievement Hunter office, Ryan gave him a gentle push forward despite Ray's pleading look.

"Go on, kiddo. This isn't something I can do for you."

Finally, the lad hesitantly opened the door. What he was met with surprised him. As soon as Ray took two steps into the room, he was immediately enveloped in a tight hug from Geoff. He had expected a punch, so it looked like Ryan was right.

"You're an asshole, you know that! Making us worry that something bad had happened to you!"

"I'm sorry, Geoff."

"Don't ever run away like that again or you're fired. I'm not even joking."

"Yes, _Papa_."

Geoff ruffled his hair, despite the lad's effort to duck away from his boss' hand.

Michael was next.

"Whenever you have shit going on, talk to me. You don't need to be the rage quit guy. That spot's already taken."

"I'm sorry, Michael. I'll remember that."

Jack pulled the lad into his arms next.

"Remember, we all have bad days, but we're also all here when you need help."

"I know. I'm sorry, Jack."

"I'm sorry for being a right prick to you," Gavin said when he finally got his turn.

"It's not your fault, Vav. I shouldn't have gotten so worked up."

Ryan watched as Ray made up with everyone. When he was released from his hug with Gavin, the gent caught his boss's attention. "Geoff, can Ray and I speak with you alone?"

"Wait," the lad spoke up.

Ryan quirked an eyebrow at him.

"I'm tired of hiding everything. Everyone can hear what needs to be said."

The others threw confused looks at Ryan, but he only inclined his head towards Ray as the lad sat back down in his chair. When everyone settled, he retold everything, only occasionally glancing up. When he finished, it finally felt like a weight had been lifted off of him. Ray didn't understand why he hadn't come clean sooner.

Everyone sat in silence, processing what they had just heard.

"Wow," Michael said. "You really went through a lot of shit."

Ray nodded.

The older lad's expression changed to one between anger and hurt.

"And you didn't tell _anyone_?!"

"I thought I could handle it by myself, and then I was ashamed when I couldn't."

"Ray, do you have anywhere to stay? You know you're always welcome at my house," Geoff offered.

"Or you can crash with me and Lindsay," Michael added.

"Actually Ryan's already offered to take me in."

"So you're going to pick the psycho over your cool boss or your "used to better" friend?!"

Ryan raised an eyebrow at Geoff but chose not to comment.

Ray shrugged. "Hey, he offered first."

"Alright, just as long as you're happy. Just remember the door's always open."

"Same here," Michael also said.

"Thanks for finally telling us what's been going on Ray," Jack praised.

"Thanks for listening." Ray looked around at everyone and was met with reassuring and forgiving smiles.

A comfortable silence fell over the room. Geoff clapped his hands together.

"Well, now that that's settled, everyone get back to work or Burnie's going to be on my ass again for late videos."

The Hunters smirked and turned back to their work. Ryan stood up to go back to the warehouse but was stopped when Geoff walked up to him with a serious expression.

"We need to talk. Alone."

Ryan followed his boss out of the office and into the conference room next door. Ryan would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous. He couldn't recall doing anything he would be in trouble for, although he had a hunch what this talk was going to be about. Geoff gestured for him to sit down. Ryan watched as Geoff sat down across from him and struggled to keep a calm facade.

"Jesus, Ryan, settle down! It's not like I'm firing you," Geoff said slightly exasperated. "I want to talk about Ray and him moving in with you."

_Of course_ , Ryan thought, _The Hunters were all like Geoff's children. It made sense he would want to make sure they would be ok._

"Are you sure you can take him in? I know you have enough on your plate with your own little ones."

"We have the space, and I'm sure he'll settle in just fine. Besides, then I'll have another set of eyes to watch the kids."

Geoff chuckled at that comment.

"Geoff," Ryan switched back to a serious tone. "You know the lads are as much like children to me as they are to you. Ray's been in a bad situation long enough. I just want to help him out of the hole he's dug himself into. Not let him put himself further in. When he was sobbing in my arms, I knew I couldn't walk away without helping him somehow. And if making him a temporary member of the Haywood family is what it takes, then that's what I'll do. He'll be safe and sound with me. I promise."

"Well then I'll hold you to that. And I can guarantee that if you ever hurt that kid I will fuck you up Haywood," he pointed his finger at him threateningly. "And you'll be fired."

"Fair enough, boss."

 

When Ray left with Ryan, the clouds had broken and the sun was shining through. Convincing his wife was easier then the gent thought and Ray genuinely liked the living space that he would be moving into, remarking that it was even bigger than his apartment. With Friday being an off day from work, they were able to start moving the lad in by the next morning while also going through the stuff currently occupying the basement. Ryan was surprised that in addition to Geoff and Griffon, nearly all the Hunters came to help which was good because Ray couldn't do a lot of the lifting with his injured wrist anyways, much to his annoyance. Because of this, they had Ray completely moved in two days, it was finally proved to Gavin that Ryan did indeed live in a normal house Austin, and the crew got to enjoy enchilada night at the Haywood's.

Geoff and Griffon were the last to leave. Griffon gave Ray a tight hug and then held him at arm's length, assuring Ray that everything would look up from here, and he was going to be just fine. When Geoff hugged him, the lad struggled to hold back tears, both guilty that this had to happen and overwhelmed with everyone's generosity and care. The gent held him a little tighter and rubbed his back. Ray felt safe enough to let a few tears fall in the arms of the man who he looked up to as a father figure.

"If you need anything call me. I don't care if it's during the day or in the middle of the night, just call anyways."

Ray nodded against him.

Geoff let go when the lad pulled away and wiped his eyes, but held him at arm's length as well.

"I'm always here for you. I always will be. Remember that."

Ray nodded again, not able to talk at the moment, but the gent understood.

"Good lad." Geoff ruffled his hair then turned to leave. "I'll see you two on Monday."

Goodbyes were exchanged, and Ryan walked up to Ray and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"You ok, champ?"

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Why don't you go ahead and go to bed then. We've had a long day."

Now that Ryan mentioned it, sleep sounded like a wonderful idea. 

"I think I'll do just that."

 

_Why can't I sleep?!_

He had gone to bed just like Ryan had said after saying good night to everyone. The house upstairs had slowly quieted as the Haywood family all settled down within the next hour. Ray had gone to sleep, or at least he thought he had, only to wake up for no reason a few hours later. He had been so tired to begin with and now he couldn't keep his eyes shut.

Ray started going through all the reasons why he could possibly be awake. _Did I need to piss? No. Was there a loud sound? No. Thunderstorm? No. Can't shut my mind off? I'm not even thinking about anything besides the fact that I can't fall asleep and how frustrating it is. Feel sick? I feel fine. Wrist hurting? Maybe a little but not enough to keep me up._

Ray finally decided to just get up and walk around a bit, hoping that would tire him out. He ended up leaving the basement and stepping into the house. What he didn't expect was for a cat tail to be laying across the walkway in the kitchen. The combination of the cat not expecting anyone to walk by and Ray not being used to living with animals constantly caused him to step right on the appendage. He could have sworn the cat screeched loud enough to wake the dead and almost gave him a heart attack.

"Sorry!" the lad softly called after the feline that had skedaddled into the living room.

"Ray?"

Second almost heart attack. "Jesus, Ryan!" Ray held a hand over his chest and his rapidly beating heart.

"I woke up to go to the bathroom and heard the cat yowl. Why are you up? Is everything ok?"

When Ray finally got his breath back he answered, "Yeah. Everything is ok. I just can't seem to sleep."

"Well, you are in a new place. Maybe you're just nervous or anxious."

"I don't feel either of those and I'm not in pain or sick. I just can't fall asleep."

"Well whatever the reason is, let's get you back to bed before you step on any more of my animal's tails and wake the whole house up. I don't know if I'll ever get my kids back to sleep if they wake up now."

Ray followed Ryan back down into the basement and the gent gestured for him to lay down. Ray laid on his side facing Ryan as he sat down next to him. The gent began to rub his back like he would for his own kids and hummed a lullaby.

Ryan watched as Ray closed his eyes and relaxed. Within a few minutes, he was out. The gent smiled and, still humming, kissed Ray's temple and tucked the lad in. Satisfied that Ray was settled, he slowly walked back up the stairs, not stopping humming until he closed the door behind him.

So Ray's first night was a little rocky. So what. He just needed time to adjust. And sure they may have more rough patches in the future, but that didn't matter either. Ryan had made a silent promise to protect and care for the lad as if he was one of his own. And if there was one thing the gent never did, was back down from a promise. Ray was now an honorary member of the Haywood family, as well as a member of the Achievement Hunter family, and as the saying goes, you never give up on family.

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this one in my head for quite awhile. I loved the R & R Connection and how cute they were together.


End file.
